§ Mr. Hefferasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps are being taken to protect British visitors to Spain; and what action is planned to impose economic sanctions upon the Spanish Government following ill-treatment of British citizens in that country.
§ Mr. M. StewartThe Spanish Government has apologised for the recent failure of the Spanish authorities to notify the British Consul of the arrest of a British subject, and has given an assurance that its obligations under the Anglo-Spanish Consular Convention with regard to the notification of arrests will be carried out. Our Consular Officers in Spain continue to give help to British subjects who are under arrest or otherwise in serious need of official assistance, as soon as such cases come to their knowledge. Compared with the number of British visitors to Spain the number of complaints of ill-treatment is very small and no special measures would be justified. No Government can protect its citizens from all the risks inherent in foreign travel.